


super rich kids with nothing but loose ends

by invictaria



Category: Empire (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, Confusion, Gen, brotherly conflicts, mentions of the Lyon family, mess of feelings, troubled teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-17
Updated: 2015-02-17
Packaged: 2018-03-13 10:49:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3378764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/invictaria/pseuds/invictaria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>But this, <i>this</i>, Jamal walking out on him, Jamal leaving him behind, Jamal looking at him like <i>that</i>, like he's angry and he's tired and doesn't want him around, he's not used.</p>
            </blockquote>





	super rich kids with nothing but loose ends

There's a moment, when the stiff profile of Jamal's back swaying in front of him is the only thing he can see among the lights, that Hakeem thinks he might start crying.

The tears are right there, under his eyelids, fast and unforgiving and unexpected, shamefully hot and humiliating, but they don't spill over his burning cheeks, at least not _yet_ , because he's not a fucking child and he can control them, he _can._

_Fuck. Fuck you. Fuck._

It's stupid, he knows, because it's not like this is the first time they fight or something, and probably it won't even be the last, but Jamal hasn't even look back after his rough reprimand and Hakeem is _very_ drunk and everything feels different and _so_ off.

_I don't care, Hakeem._

Mostly, he's not used to _that._

He's used to Andre's coldness, the way he keeps to himself, the distance between them like a solid space ever since Hakeem was only a child.

He's used to Cookie's absence, an entire life spent without knowing the touch of a mother's hand, the smell of her embraces.

He's even used to Lucious' manic expectations, the overpowering love that his father always reserved him, the costant, nagging feeling of being just a mirror for him and not much more.

But this, _this_ , Jamal walking out on him, Jamal leaving him behind, Jamal looking at him like _that_ , like he's angry and he's tired and doesn't want him around, he's not used.

Jamal's always been the one person that was _his_.  
The only one he could claim for himself without a doubt, in a multitude of faces that came and went over the years.  
Jamal's the one who always cared _unconditionally_ for him, the one he could put his trust on, the _only_ one consistently by Hakeem's side. _Them against the world_ and all that shit.  
He's been there for everything, birthdays and every single one of his fevers, nightmares and parties and horror movies at two am in the morning, broken noses and broken hearts, first raps and last experimental songs.  
He's been the brother and the friend and the partner in crime, the father and the mother Hakeem didn't really have.  
He's _been_ everything, _he's_ everything, but lately it feels like they're no longer a team and Hakeem can't find his footing.

_You said they'd never break us, they'd never tear us apart. You promised me. Where the fuck are you, then? Why are you turning your back on me?_

He's not used to Jamal choosing someone else over him, and watching him doing exactly that feels suspiciously specular to heartbreak.

Hakeem's head is pounding badly and there's a sour taste in his mouth. Suddenly, there's a girl pressing against his side, her mouth already close to his neck.  
As she bites it, he closes his eyes and lets a tiny moan escape his lips. His eyes are still wet and there's a tightness in his chest that he can't scroll off, but the pain grounds him, gets him out of his head for a second.

“We should check the bathroom,” she says, sweet and simple, and maybe that's what he needs, some pretty girl with round hips and an almost naked butt to forget this whole mess of feelings he can’t explain.  
  
 _I don't care either. I can be without you too. Fuck you. Fuck you._

Still, as they walk through the crowd, Jamal's back is the only thing he can see.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm literally obsessed with this show, I have to be honest. And I really, really, REALLY love the dynamics between this two, because in this mess of a family, they manage to have purest relationship, based on simple love. AND IT PAINS ME TO NO END TO SEE THEM FIGHT, OK? ESPECIALLY SINCE HAKEEM IS SUCH A CHILDISH PRECIOUS GEM, OK? I love Hakeem a lot. Please understand.
> 
> PS: also the lack of fics on this fandom pains me to no end (x2). So i'm posting this, hoping more talented and creative writers will feel compelled to follow ;)
> 
> Thank y'all.


End file.
